HIGH SCHOOLS: Inland Empire wins Fiesta Bowl

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Los Angeles County All Stars’ Doug Soriano (17) of El Rancho High
School kicks for a field goal in the first half of the Southern
California Fiesta Bowl at Whittier College on Saturday, July 11, 2009,
in Whittier, Calif.

WHITTIER – While the format for the third annual Southern California Fiesta Bowl High School All-Star game has changed each year since its inception, the one constant has been three competitive games.

Saturday night was no different, as the Inland Empire stars defeated their counterparts from Los Angeles County 35-27 at Whittier College.

The visitors broke a 21-21 tie thanks partially to running back A.J. Johnson, who carried the ball from the the L.A. 24 to the 2 on two carries.

Inland quarterback Lyle Negron then capped the effort with a two-yard plunge as they went up 28-21 with 2:07 remaining in the third.

L.A. then tripped up its chance with a fumble deep in its own territory that gave the Inland squad possession on the L.A. 35.

Five plays later, Inland back Johnathan Norton bounced off tackle from the 15 and pushed the ball to the 2. He was rewarded by taking the next handoff up the middle for the Inland’s second consecutive score, putting them up 35-21 with 11:27 in the fourth.

Norton’s score broke a back-and-forth game that L.A. County knotted at 21-21 with 6:46 in the third.

UCLA-bound Tevita Palu of Long Beach Jordan advanced the ball from the 43 by 14 yards on a vicious carry in which he knocked down two Inland players.

Palu’s bruising was followed by the nifty moves of El Rancho’s Cesar Roldan, who caught a pass over the middle of the field at the 10, then scampered to the left pylon for the game-tying score.

The L.A. County team did pull within 35-27 on a Dayvon Ross 24-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Brandon Mims of Palmdale with nine minutes left in the fourth. But that’s as close as it got.

The Inland Empire, which blew a 14-0 lead, took a 21-14 advantage into the half on a spectacular play.

With two seconds left in the half, Inland Empire quarterback Eric Johnson quick snapped at the L.A. 26 and then heaved the ball into the right corner of the end zone.

Fortunately for the I.E., receiver Alex Jeffries wrestled the ball away from a defender on a jump ball for a touchdown.

Trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter, L.A. County bounced back in an unusual way.

On a second-and-10 from the Inland 30, coach Javier Cid resorted to some trickery when his quarterback, Los Angeles Roosevelt’s Jesse Diaz, faked a handoff to two of his backs and instead flipped to Bell Gardens offensive lineman Cesar Estrada.

The 6-foot-2, 270-pounder sauntered unabashed for a 30-yard score that brought the L.A. team within a touchdown at 14-7 with 10:33 left in the second.

The L.A. County All-Stars further fed on their momentum with their first defensive stop of the Inland Empire, forcing a punt.

Again, the L.A. team took advantage of good field position by marching 60 yards on nine plays which spanned 2:16.

Mims did the honors on a second-and-goal from the 10 on a straight keeper in which in he broke two tackles at the 2 and fell into the end zone.

The Iowa State-bound Mims then held the snap for El Rancho’s Doug Soriano, who tied the game at 14-14 with a successful extra point with 4:49 remaining in the half.